After going through about 7 earbuds this year, I'm now on the search for some in-ear earbuds that are gold plated, preferably an 'L' plug, and are in the $10-35 range.
I've overused the V-Moda Bass Freqs, and didn't like the quality, i've broken the connection tips of a few cheap earbuds, and i've returned some panasonic earbuds due to design.
Headphone durability should stand up to moderate mp3 player in the pocket use, and low listening levels by providing noise blocking, thanks!

The build quality of the Mallows is atrocious. The cords are prone to snapping and splitting. I've gone through two pairs since X-mas. No biggie, since I got mine for $9.95usd on sale at Circuit City, but still probably a bit more "cheaply made" then the OP is looking for.

I'm with dfkt on this one. The CX300's from Sennhieser. Solid build quality, and a terrific warranty.

they sound good to my ears...L-shaped plug if you're using the extender (which is provided)...it does say that it's a gold connector if that matters to you. 3 sets of different sized pads to fit you better.

I use the Altec Lansing CHP121 for short trips, mostly when I don't want to be seen using my other Altec's which look very big.

These altec's CHP121 have good bass and great sound for the type of earbud, and they can be called "well-made cheap earbuds". If you buy these try different in-ear positions to listen to low frequencies, It took me a day or 2 to figure it out, but know I love them, at only $9.95 maybe even cheaper.

I spent a good amount of this weekend looking at all the choices, and decided to go after those Sennheiser CX300's on Ebay for $22usd
**I read all about fake sennheisers and bad sellers, so hopefully this will work**
I also ended up getting some mm28 speakers for $14usd at buy.com. I'll post my opinions about them in the speaker thread once I get them. Thanks for the input!